Former major league baseball third baseman Chris Brown died in a Houston hospital Tuesday, almost a month after a house he owned in Sugar Land mysteriously caught on fire.

Sugar Land police spokesman Doug Adolph said Brown, 45, arrived at Southwest Memorial Hermann Hospital with burns on Nov. 30 after his unoccupied house in the 2900 block of Deer Creek burned.

Investigators considered the fire, reported at 1:26 a.m., to be suspicious, Adolph said. No charges were ever filed. Brown was never interviewed because of his injuries. He was later transferred to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he died.

The two-story house in the Sugar Wood subdivision was gutted. It now has plywood covering doors and windows, with little more than the brick shell remaining.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the house totally engulfed in fire and worked to keep the fire from spreading to nearby houses, Adolph said. There was no furniture in the house and no people were seen at the scene, Adolph said. Neighbors said it had been vacant for several months, he said.